On Saturday, hundreds of thousands of women and men converged on Washington to protest the democratic election of Donald Trump, and his barely-begun presidency.

Many wore what they called a “pussyhat.”

Western-style pussyhat:

The hat is pink, and has a clever design, so when it is placed on the head, it gives the effect of ears, like a pussycat. It also of course represents a slang and, to many, derogatory term for the female genitalia.

Compare the Islamic-style pussyhat:

I think most of us can agree that there’s nothing fun or clever about that. It is designed to remove women from the public sphere, to remind them and everyone else, that they are the private property of a man, who owns even the sight of them, which only he, as owner, is allowed to see.

The Western pussyhat alludes to a phrase used by Donald Trump in a private conversation with another man eleven…